- A chat with Dmitri Gunatilake
Being able to express ourselves is very important, and only a few of us have the ability and talent to express ourselves through song. All through history, we have had the most passionate love affair with music and song, and this week on Brunch, we chatted with singer, performer, and vocal coach Dmitri Gunatilake.
While not a commercial singer, Dmitri has nevertheless made a name for herself in Colombo’s theatre and music circles as an extremely talented performer and singer. Some of her more notable roles include productions like The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, and Evita, as well as many choral concerts, some of which she herself has conceptualised.
On 12 December, Dmitri, who since 2019 has transitioned to becoming a vocal coach (before that she was a lawyer by day and singer by night), will be hosting a virtual singing workshop for children aged eight to 19. Dmitri’s transition to becoming a full-time vocal coach happened just before the pandemic, and so, we chatted with Dmitri on her upcoming workshop and what it has been like as a vocal teacher during a pandemic.
We first asked Dmitri how she got into the field of music in the first place, and Dmitri, laughing, told us that she was essentially forced into it by her mother when she was young because she used to run around everywhere singing and her mother eventually got her into training. Dmitri took to it like a duck to water and has never looked back, although she did also become a lawyer while still staying very much in touch with singing and performing. In fact, Dmitri recalled that all her big productions have always coincided with big law college exams, something that was doubly stressful for her because she has always been a last-minute crammer.
After some years as a lawyer though, after finding herself yearning for more flexible hours and the opportunity to properly exercise her creative and teaching talent, Dmitri made a conscious decision to pivot from law to being a vocal coach and trainer. However, this decision to pivot came right around the time the pandemic first reared its head.
“I scoffed at the whole thing of online lessons, and for a good month or two at first, I was quite depressed, as, I’m sure, were many people. There was no money flowing, and I was also very used to being on my feet the whole time, and I hated having nothing to do,” Dmitri said, quipping: “Stress makes me happy!”
After a while though, Dmitiri did lean into online learning and found a way to be able to teach effectively online. She now serves as a vocal coach or choral director for several schools as well as a private vocal coach.
Speaking on adjusting to being a virtual vocal coach, Dmitiri shared that while it does have its drawbacks like an increased workload, some benefits are that each student is able to be heard, and ironically, students in large classes now find it easier to get more individual attention. Dmitri’s upcoming workshop promises individual attention, limiting itself to small groups of five students for maximum impact.
Dmitri explained that the workshops will cover the fundamentals of singing that she feels most people miss out on, like how to rephrase, how to articulate, how to hold your posture, and how to emote your singing physically and emotionally. “It’s the basics of performance; singing and storytelling, regardless of genre,” Dmitri said adding, that she’ll be holding the workshop in the categories according to age, and limiting each class to a small group of five students for maximum impact. Held in three categories according to age, the workshop will feature one session for kids aged eight to 10 (at 10 a.m.), one for kids aged 11-14 (at 2.30 p.m.), and for kids aged 15-19 (at 5.30 p.m.). While she will be cutting off registrations at five students per group, Dmitri said that will be holding a similar workshop the following week for those who are unable to join in this week’s workshop.
We also asked Dmitri what she has planned for 2022, both as a coach and as a performer herself, and learned that what she’s mostly looking forward to is being able to put together a concert for the Easter festivities (pandemic willing, of course) as well as write and produce her own jukebox musical.
For more information on Dmitri’s upcoming workshops or to learn more about her work please reach out to Dmitri on Instagram.
Instagram: @dmitri_gunatilake
